Political and cultural go-betweens: the franciscan missionaries of the college of chillan and the border expansion south of the spanish empire at the end of the eighteenth century

Abstract

In the first half of the 18th-century, missionary and secular methods were discredited and worn out, so instability prevailed on the Mapuche border of the Spanish Empire in America. However, it was not until 1756 when a real renewed missionary impulse was injected with the erection of the College of Propaganda Fide in Chillán. In a short time, this institution gained the attention of the Bourbon agenda, and after the expulsion of the Jesuits, it rose as an important instrument to develop and maintain peaceful relations beyond the Bio Bío river. Thus, this article aims to unveil the Colegio's impact between the 1756 and 1803, showing a role that has rarely been credited to the San Francisco’ sons: to see them beyond the interpretation framed in missionary failure, because the works by the Propaganda Fide were essential elements for the policy of territorial protection and promotion of peace with the indigenous. All this in order to enrich the debate on the colonial evangelization issue beyond the Biobío river.